Under the patronage of the German Ambassador in Lebanon, H.E Christian Clages, the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) in partnership with Forum ZFD (German Civil Peace Service) celebrated the inauguration of a 2-year social-cohesion joint project “Future Together Now” at its headquarters in Baalbeck on March 31st, 2015. Governor of Baalbeck- Hermel Mr. Bashir Khodr, LOST Chairman Dr. Ramy Lakiss, Dr. Peter Rimmele the director of Konrad Adenaur Stiftung in Lebanon, delegations from UNICEF, UNHCR, OTI/USAID, municipal mayors and members, school principals and teachers, representatives of civil society organizations and interested people had a participatory part in the event.
H.E. Mr. Clages opened his speech expressing a lot of admiration to the Lebanese society for generously hosting the Syrian refugees. He said, “When we come from Europe, it becomes difficult to understand our self-distancing policy regarding the Syrian crisis after the large number of Syrian refugees, which we can no longer secure their requirements and fulfill their needs. Despite that, the Lebanese hosting community has displayed an attitude of welcome and solidarity towards the Syrian influx for five years. Lately, he added, such an attitude has evolved into one of misperception and concerns over security situation, pressure over resources, and competition among the labor force started to emerge. He then explained the policy adopted by the German government towards the Syrian refugees whether in Germany or at the neighboring countries of Syria.
Mrs. Christina Hering, the project coordinator of Forum ZFD briefly gave some background information about the joint project with LOST. She stated that back in her country, German cities and communities were faced with enormous challenges where social, structural and demographic change as well as immigration had a great impact on the way of life, which would eventually lead to conflicts and social tensions. LOST and forum ZFD through qualified advisors will advise local communities on how to deal with such challenges. These advisors will assess the local situation, develop action plans in a participatory process and monitor their implementation of community projects that directly address real needs. With a professional outsider perspective, these experts can get a neutral view of local conflicts and contribute to conflict analysis and management thus transferring the experience from Germany to Lebanon. Mrs. Hering also stated that the role of ZFD in this project is to support civil society in peacefully transforming conflicts and dealing with impacts of Syrian Crisis. ZFD will train in a one year cycle 8 Community Activist on topics such as: Conflict Transformation, Communication, Community Empowerment and Civic Education. Together with local partner Organization, LOST, we develop creative solutions to address the structural causes of conflicts and monitor their implementation.
Governor Mr. Bashir Khodr stated that Lebanon is paying a “huge bill” now that the number of the Syrian refugees has already exceeded two million and the hosting community no longer have the ability to secure their requirements. “The Lebanese government is unable to secure the Lebanese citizen requirements and with the two million displaced people and their need for electricity, water and infrastructure, and the fragile security situation, the burden is immense”, the governor added. Mr. Khodr also emphasized the importance of human dignity on behalf of the displaced Syrians regardless of nationality, age, color, race and sex as long as this doesn’t influence the country’s stability.
Dr. Ramy Lakkis highlighted the objectives of the joint project with Forum ZFD and the participatory role of local stakeholders in the implementation of the project. To him, the project aims at establishing local processes for social inclusion, joint decision-making, and non-violent conflict transformation between and within host communities and refugees from Syria through the development of a conflict transformation-based community mobilizing mechanisms in 5 pilot villages in North and Central Bekaa in Lebanon. He also requested commitment and sincere interaction among various local stakeholders in order to fully understand the project and help in the offering genuine feedback to the process. Room for extra discussion of the project was open through a series of Q&A followed by informal lunch.
It is worth noting that two more stakeholder meetings will be organized over the coming three months to follow up on fulfilling the objectives of the project and attendees were encouraged to take part in these meetings.
